This has been a busy week, dear readers. Lots of phone interviews, dinner parties, and soundtrack-slinging at Ye Olde Amoeba Music Hollywood.

I was gabbing with Peaches about her new album last Wednesday. It’s called I Feel Cream (release date in the U.S. is May 5) and it’s a blast! Definitely a departure from its predecessors, in that it’s more diverse in sound and moods. Peaches sings a lot more. There are moments where it sounds like the lovechild of modern R&B and older tracks by darlings of the Industrial genre, Front 242.

Anyway, I asked her about musical influences that might surprise people (it’s already well documented that she loves hip-hop and rock ‘n’ roll). This led to her gushing about Joni Mitchell, and this performance in particular, which rocked her world:

That voice! A miracle. I just can’t get enough of it…

She really is one of my favorite things in the world of music, and while not everyone shares my passion for her sound, anyone who appreciates songwriting as a craft must acknowledge that, as a writer of music and lyrics, she remains one of the greatest artists of modern pop music. She’s credited with inventing about 50 different guitar tunings, and the list of musicians who cite her as an influence – Peaches included – reads like a Who’s Who of music.

My ipod, bless its heart, is always on shuffle. I listen to it while driving to work, while I’m cooking, working out, while I’m cleaning, when I’m playing dress up, whenever the spirit moves me really. Today I noticed a forming pattern. The female artists on my ipod for the most part are from foreign countries, and the majority of them hail from European countries. Maybe it’s some new thing-- for me, I mean. Like some sort of “phase,” as my mother likes to call it. Before long it will pass, then I’ll be into music from Kazakhstan or Mozambique or Utah or sometimes I’m in the mood for some good ol’ fashion gibberish from Nomansland. My point is this, um, err, oh yes: Euro chick music. Amy and Lily aren’t the only girls making a rawkus.

Are you familiar with Annie? No, not the freckle faced, red head with pigtails from our favorite childhood sing-a-long, I mean, musical. Did she have pig tales? I digress. If you haven't familiarized yourself with Norwegian electro pop singer Annie, you should. Her sound is like early Madonna doped up on bubble gum and pixie stix. Yes, that means dance music. She's woven from the same cloth as Datarock and Skatebård. Well, they all come from Bergen, Norway, anyway. England's Richard X, who has produced for Róisín Murphy and M.I.A, along with a handful of productions from fellow Norwegians Röyksopp and Timo Kaukolampi of Op:L Bastards, formed the basis of Anniemal, Annie’s debut album.

Her highly anticipated second album Don’t Stop is to be released on April 27th.Popjustice got their paws on a copy and declared it a “complete modern masterpiece.” The first single, a cover of Stacey-Q’s "Two of Hearts," was produced by Richard X and was leaked on the Internet a while back. It is a modern day dance till it hurts kind of song, complete with all the trimmings to make you move your feet till you get a cramp in your big toe. The second single, "My Love is Better," features this one guy from this one band...Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. Ring any bells? Kind of a big deal. They just performed a packed show at Amoeba Hollywood, though without Annie. Anyway, he plays the guitar on this track, another track called "Loco," and in general for that band I mentioned. They won some awards or something. Oh, yeah and he sings the lead vocals for them too-- the band, I mean. My bartender told me the girls go crazy for him.

I thought it would be difficult to find songs I was ashamed to love. Fact is, it’s much more challenging to keep my attention span with this series, so, I’m going to wrap this “soundtrack of shame” up with a grand finale. Cringe with compassion.

LITTLE RIVER BAND “Reminiscing”

Little River Band had a gift for recording songs that would one day become a staple of grocery stores’ piped-in music. It might surprise you to know they had 13 American, Top 40 hits, despite the fact that their “sound” is akin to a waiting room lobby in a retirement home.

This song got a lot of radio play in Hawaii when I was growing up there – learning how to body surf and not learning my times-tables – so I associate it with childhood and a dark, iced tea that you could always buy at Kailua Beach.

This video is a perfect example of what “boring” means. I mean, even the lead singer brought a book to read during the bridges! I was surprised to see a 30-something-year-old Cousin Oliver as part of the band.

MARY COSTA “Once Upon a Dream”

I think animated Disney films are pretty swell, provided they were actually produced by Walt Disney himself (the last of which was “The Jungle Book”). Something happened in the 1970’s when the Don Bluth posse was still working at Disney – something gross feeling. I’m not saying Bluth is a bad man, but (with the exception of “The Secret of NIMH”) every movie he worked on, post-Walt, makes me crazy. And not crazy in a rad, Spuds Mackenzie way. Crazy in a “Christina, bring me the axe!” sort of way.

He's listening to music on shuffle; a new song playing every
few minutes or so. Currently playing is an early song by
Front 242 from their album "Geography", located in the
Gothic/Industrial section of Amoeba Music.

He's typing out his latest blog, in screenplay format.

In the time it takes him to describe the music that's
playing, it switches to a track from Clinic's latest effort,
"Visitations"; an album he is still exploring and enjoying,
though it doesn't immediately rock his world like their
impish, catchy and pithy album "Walking With Thee", located
in the Rock/Pop section of Amoeba Music; an album which
samples one of his heroes, Laurie Anderson, also found in
that section.